You really can't go wrong with Capitalist Realism, bite-sized and all-encompassing.

I think Mark Fisher is kind of overrated tbh...

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/exiting-vampire-castle/

Just jump straight into his books they arent too hard; Capitalist Realism, Ghosts of My Life, The Weird and the Eerie, K-Punk, Postcapitalist Desire. All the books are cheap too

literati

6 months ago

It's not so much about difficulty—I've read plenty of difficult critical theory—as me not wanting to read a book, dislike it, and have someone say 'you should have read XYZ instead; it's much better, especially for someone unfamiliar with his worldview'. I have finite time, and far too much to read (and write).

1Reply

I always felt that the perfect entry point into Mark fisher is his music reviews. I remember like 6-7 years ago reading his Loveless and Burial reviews when I was really young, and I think the one where he talks about the pop group, and just being astonished at his prose and emotion behind his words. I never thought that someone’s music review would move me so much. It’s so raw, so earnest, yet so dissecting and analytical. Absolutely dazzling!

Capitalist Realism is the most relevant and important one. It's a quick and easy read but familiarity with Žižek helps a ton. Fisher's other works are all interesting in their own ways (I loved reading his old blog K-Punk) but nowhere near as relevant.

His old blog from the mid 00s is worth reading. Here are some posts I like: Abstract Engineers (2004): https://web.archive.org/web/20050511045423/http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/003847.html Emotional Engineering (2004): https://web.archive.org/web/20170614075622/http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/003767.html Building Worlds (2004): https://web.archive.org/web/20170609230806/http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/002143.html Lovecraft and the Weird: Parts I and II (2007) https://web.archive.org/web/20170114224830/http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/009329.html https://web.archive.org/web/20170512194647/http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/009407.html Weird / Psychoanalysis (2007): https://web.archive.org/web/20170114210418/http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/009956.html Break through in Grey Lair (2009): https://web.archive.org/web/20170324003825/http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/011269.html Also, you should check out Mark Downham. Both Fisher and Land have said he was a major influence on them and ccru. His essays are hard to find, as they are pre-web (this one on cyberpunk is from 1987): https://web.archive.org/web/20061007121911/http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/final_solution.html